ALL through summer our house is filled with the colour and scent of sweet peas, their vases replenished every few days with fresh stems. Picking is never a chore and taking all the flowers before they make pods is essential to keep fresh buds forming from summer to autumn. All these annuals ask for in return is a root run of deep, moist, well-cultivated soil and a climbing frame.
Seeds of the original purple and magenta sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) were sent to England from Sicily in 1699, though they were probably collected in Malta where wild plants still grow. By the end of the 1800s there was a range of pretty, fragrant Grandiflora cultivars still popular today, but then an odd thing happened. During the summer of 1901 growers in three separate gardens noticed larger, frilly edged blooms among their displays of pink-flowered ‘Prima Donna’.
French knickers of the sweet pea world
One location: “These are the French knickers of the sweet pea world. Suddenly, what had been a rather refined, restrained, if highly scented lineup was invaded by outrageous showoffs.” She goes on to say: “For cut-flower production, the Spencers command the highest price because of stem length and their showy heads.”
